This invention relates generally to supply of warm air to passengers on aircraft, and more particularly concerns an improved apparatus to be installed in aircraft and having an elongated flexible warm air delivery hose extending from an air heating unit, the hose manipulable to deliver air throughout a wide range of nozzle positions.
There is need for apparatus, as referred to, as for example in aircraft lavatories, to be used as in hand and or hair drying.
It is a major object of the invention to provide apparatus, as referred to, to be installed to fixed structure in an aircraft, as for example a panel in an aircraft lavatory, or a panel associated with an aircraft seat, or seats. Basically, the needed and improved apparatus comprises:
a) a heater and blower unit to be attached to said aircraft fixed structure,
b) an elongated flexible hose extending from said unit, and configured to receive a flow of heated air from said unit,
c) a nozzle at a distal end of said hose to direct heated air at a person using said apparatus,
d) and a retainer for releasably retaining the hose proximate fixed structure at a location remote from the heater and blower unit.
It is another object of the invention to provide apparatus which can be easily installed to or in association with a panel at or near the top of an aircraft lavatory compartment, so that the downwardly extending hose is immediately useful, throughout the lavatory compartment. As will be seen, a proximity sensor may be installed at or near the nozzle, and operatively connected to the unit to effect activation of the: unit in response to release of the nozzle from the retainer.
A further object is to provide apparatus which can be easily installed to or in association with a panel located at an aircraft seat assembly, as for example beneath a seat part such as an arm rest. In that configuration, the air heater and blower unit can be located beneath the panel, so that the hose may extend remotely and upwardly, for example.
Yet another object is to provide multiple of such panels on or associated with aircraft seat assemblies, together with multiple of the heater/blower units, hoses and nozzles, enabling warm air delivery to multiple seated passengers. In this regard, a single heater/blower unit can be employed to supply warm air to multiple hoses positioned for passenger use.
These and other object and advantages of the invention, as well as the details of an illustrative embodiment, will be more fully understood form the following specification and drawings, in which: